The keynote address was presented by our guest speaker Leigh McClintock, Director of McClintock Associates Pty Ltd and Vice President of the Australia-Japan Society of NSW. Mr McClintock has had a long association with Japan, which began while he was studying economics at the University of Sydney in the early 1960s. Mr McClintock has served as Assistant Trade Commissioner in Osaka, and later as First Secretary (Commercial) at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. Mr McClintock was again posted to Tokyo from 1993 to 2000, where he was employed as Japan Manager for the aluminium producer Alcoa (Asia) Ltd. In his address, Mr McClintock discussed the positive ways in which his connection with Japan has influenced his life.

The keynote address was followed by a panel discussion where Mr McClintock joined six students of Japanese, all of whom came from differing backgrounds. The panellists were Erin Jenkins (University of New South Wales), Adrian Wong (Australian National University), James Carrick (Australian Catholic University), Raymond Roche (University of Sydney), Mariko Ralph (University of Sydney) and Seckin Cetin (graduate of University of New South Wales), who also acted as Master of Ceremonies during the forum. Audience members were invited to participate in the discussion, and posed several questions to the panel.

At the conclusion of the forum, panel members and the audience socialised over a light Japanese buffet. A door prize of two return domestic air tickets was generously supplied by JALPAK.

Following is an abridged version of Mr McClintock’s address to the forum.

‘Have a look at the list of Australia’s richest people, and see how many of them speak Japanese. Probably none, and if there are any, you can bet that they are not rich because they have studied Japanese. Japanese language ability can still help you to lead an interesting life, make lots of friends and be financially comfortable.

‘I left school at 16 and later did an economics degree at the University of Sydney. When I did my Masters in 1965 it was obvious that Japan was going to be very important economically to Australia, so I picked as my thesis subject “The Role of Exports in the Economic Growth of Japan”. In those days there was little available in English on the Japanese economy. I realised that, to pursue an interest in Japan, I needed to study the language. I did this at ANU, while working as a Class 6 Clerk in the International Trade Relations Division. When the only Japanese-speaking Trade Commissioner in Osaka resigned just before the Osaka Expo, I became Assistant Trade Commissioner, working in Osaka for two years. Coming home, there was no room on the Japan Desk, and I was made a Class 8 Clerk.

‘My next milestone was as First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, from 1974. After three years concentrating on supermarket promotions and agricultural commodity access issues, I returned to Canberra and was put in charge of trade relations with Papua New Guinea - as a Class 10! At age 35, I left the public service and joined Alcoa in Melbourne as an economist. They were impressed because I could speak Japanese; I don’t know how much it counted, but it did make a difference.

‘It is 39 years since I first studied Japan, and 36 years since my first Japanese language lesson. I have lived in Japan for a total of twelve years over a span of 31 years, and have visited Japan every year except two since 1969. Yet, in all that period, I only had the word “Japan” in my job title for three years. I have never been employed on the basis of speaking Japanese, but my language has influenced the jobs I have done. Japanese has been good to me - I have met Prime Ministers, made wonderful friends, been paid well, and have had my mind and aesthetic range expanded by exposure to a civilisation distinctly different from ours. I may never make the “richest” list, but I am rich enough in the full sense of the word.

‘When I began, Japan was still closed up and opportunities were limited. Today, the Japanese-related job field has diversified. Australian governments and the tourism industry employ far more people in Japanese-related work. The down side is that many jobs are not attractive to ambitious graduates, and you have to compete with the considerable number of Japanese people here. Mergers and cost-cutting have reduced the number of big organisations with an Australian presence in Japan. There are not many long-term Japan-related careers on offer, but short-term options for the “Japan experience” have multiplied.

‘Japan offers some wonderful opportunities; you can sample Japan, and if you really like it you may decide that Japanese justifies the effort needed to reap the benefits from it. The Japan Foundation can provide you with plenty of ideas to get started, and so can the Australia-Japan Society.’

The Australia-Japan Society of NSW can be found at
http://www.austjapanfed.org.au/NSW/ajsnsw_about.htm